POULENCGloria

RUTTERRequiem

A l d e b u r g h m u s i c c l u bfounded by Benjamin Britten for local people

Saturday 21 May 2011

FROM THE DIRECTOR OF MUSIC

A very warm welcome to tonight's concert in the lovely St Bartholomew’s

Church, Orford. The choir always enjoys singing here in a church which has

very special associations with music-making, not least the close links it enjoyed

with Benjamin Britten.

Tonight's works are diverse. Poulenc’s Gloria, played on this occasion with

organ accompaniment, is full of life and energy and very Gallic in flavour –

both in terms of style and harmony.The Rutter Requiem is well known, but

tonight’s version for choir and chamber ensemble is not often heard. Written at

the same time as the version for full orchestra, Rutter intended this for venues

such as churches which, generally, have more confined spaces than concert

halls. The composer’s chamber version has a feeling of great delicacy and adds,

in my view, to the Requiem’s feeling of reverence.

Thank you for coming here tonight, and I and the Choir look forward to seeing

you at future concerts. Our next concert is Mendelssohn’s Elijah at Snape

Maltings Concert Hall on Saturday, 26 November at 7.30pm. I hope to see

many of you there.

Edmond Fivet

W E L C O M E

Saturday 21 May 2011 at 7.30pm

St Bartholomew’s Church Orford

POULENCGloria

Jehan Alain Ave Maria soprano solo

INTERVAL

RUTTERRequiem

Zoë Bonner soprano

William Saunders organ

Aldeburgh Music Club ChoirPrometheus Ensemble

Edmond Fivet Conductor

A l d e b u r g h m u s i c c l u bAldeburgh Music Club is a Registered Charity No 1000990

M U S I C

F R A N C I S P O U L E N C 1 8 9 9 - 1 9 6 3

From 1936, when Poulenc returned to the Catholic faith, his

steady output of songs, piano pieces, operas, ballets,

orchestral and chamber works, was joined by a succession of

religious compositions. The Gloria dates from 1959. A

commission from the Koussevitsky Foundation, it was first

performed in Boston in 1961.

The work opens with a fanfare-like introduction whose double-dotted rhythms are

taken up by the chorus over rippling semiquavers. The second movement, ‘very lively

and joyful’, bounces along in a dance-like way, pairing the voices. In the ‘very slow and

calm’ Domine Deus the soloist floats a melodic line of great beauty whilst the choir, as

it were, comments. The fourth section is almost a scherzo and whizzes by. In stark

contrast, the following movement is a moving appeal characterised by the soloist’s

jagged augmented intervals.The final section opens with an unaccompanied chant-like

phrase before the return of the fanfare music from the opening. The soprano solo part

is marked ‘extraordinarily calm’ and the choir is asked to accompany her in an almost

imperceptible murmur.

The Gloria is a work of strong contrasts within an idiom little different from the

composer’s secular style, in this resembling the classical tradition of Mozart and

others. Indeed, so secular did it sound to some early listeners that it was occasionally

deemed sacrilegious. Poulenc explained that he was thinking of angels sticking their

tongues out – in frescoes by Crozzoli – and of some Benedictine monks he once saw

enjoying a game of football. For him there was no problem blending fun and sincere,

moving seriousness.

One of the most striking features of the Gloria is the idiosyncratic accentuation of the

words. Far from being haphazardly ‘wrong’ it is, in fact, carefully organized to give a

memorably off-beat, jazzy feeling. Like the harmonic language, based on traditional

chords used in a fresh way, the style was forged in the early years of Poulenc’s career

when he was the most successful member of ‘Les Six’, a group determined to throw off

both the weighty Germanic tradition and the mantle of Debussy. Stravinsky, living in

Paris at the time, was moving into his own neo-classic style which seems to resonate in

Poulenc’s music throughout his life.

The mercurial contrasts which are such a feature in the Gloria were an integral part of

his personality and he was ‘too innocent to be insincere’, said Benjamin Britten.

Terrified when in a boat, even on Thorpeness Meare, he was very often daring in his

music. Another friend said he had something in him of the monk, but also of the street

urchin. He, himself, believed he was primarily a composer of religious music and that

it represented the best of him. He held this belief early in his career when he had, in

fact, written very little sacred music. The Gloria undoubtedly fulfils this prophecy.

Gloria

I Gloria in excelsis Deo, et in terra pax hominibus bonae voluntatis.

II Laudamus te, benedicimus te, adoramus te, glorificamus te. Gratias agimus tibi propter

magnam gloriam tuam.

III Domine Deus, Rex caelestis, Deus Pater omnipotens.

V Domine Fili unigenite Jesu Christe.

V Domine Deus, Agnus Dei, Filius Patris. Qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere nobis. Qui tollis

peccata mundi, suscipe deprecationem nostram.

VI Qui sedes ad dexteram Patris, miserere nobis. Quoniam tu solus Sanctus, tu solus

Dominus. (Amen). Tu solus Altissimus, Jesu Christe. Cum Sancto Spiritu, in gloria Dei

Patris. Amen.

(from the Ordinary of the Mass)

Programme notes by Rosemary Jones 2011

Gloria

I Glory be to God on high, and in earth peace, good will towards men.

II We praise thee, we bless thee, we worship thee, we glorify thee, we give thanks to thee for

thy great glory.

III O Lord God, heavenly King, God the Father Almighty.

IV O Lord, the only-begotten Son Jesu Christ.

V O Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father, that takest away the sins of the world, have

mercy upon us. Thou that takest away the sins of the world, receive our prayer.

VI Thou that sittest at the right hand of God the Father, have mercy upon us. For thou only

art holy; thou only art the Lord. (Amen) Thou only, O Christ, with the Holy Ghost, art

most high in the glory of God the Father. Amen.

Jehan Alain (1911-1940) Ave Maria soprano solo

Zoë Bonner soprano

accompanied by

William Saunders organ

J O H N R U T T E R b o r n 1 9 4 5

John Rutter’s Requiem was composed in 1985 and dedicated to

the memoty of his father. Like most of his large-scale choral

works it was first performed in the United States. The Lord is my

Shepherd had been composed in 1976 as a separate anthem

dedicated to Mel Olson and the Chancel Choir of First United Methodist Church,

Omaha, Nebraska. In March 1985 movements 1, 2, 4 and 7 were performed in

Sacramento - conducted by the composer – and on 13 October that year Rutter

conducted the first complete performance at Lovers’ Lane United Methodist Church in

INTERVAL 20 MINUTES

Dallas. It has since become a firm favourite on both sides of the Atlantic. The existence

of the composer’s own arrangement of the orchestral accompaniment for reduced

forces – organ and six other instruments – has brought the work to a wider audience,

and it has been much used in memorial services, particularly in the United States after

September 11, 2001.

Like Brahms, Faure and Durufle among others, Rutter made his own personal choice

of texts rather than setting the traditional Catholic liturgy. The second and sixth

movements are settings of Psalms 130 and 23, whilst the other English texts are taken

from the Anglican Burial service in the 1662 Book of Common Prayer.

The Requiem opens with a reiterated timpani pedal note as if a distant procession is

approaching. This idea returns in the fifth movement and the closing section, giving a

strong sense of cohesion. The first movement also introduces the two contrasting

moods which characterise this Requiem, the first chromatic, suffering, supplicatory;

the second optimistic and in a very direct style. The second movement, which seems to

have echoes of the negro spiritual, has a cello obbligato giving a rich and expressive

depth. Light returns for the simple purity of Pie Jesu, written for solo soprano with

soft, supplicatory choral phrases. In the fourth movement the glockenspiel takes the

role of the traditional Sanctus bells and the Hosannas bring canonic, trumpet-like

flourishes from the chorus.

In the fifth movement, a deeply felt Agnus Dei leads on to a setting of words from the

Burial Service; a section which seems to find Rutter at his most in debt to the early

twentieth century English style. Oboe and harp have an almost improvisatory feeling

in the accompaniment to The Lord is My Shepherd; surely Rutter was picturing David.

The solo soprano returns in the concluding movement where, once again, the Latin

text combines with the Burial Service. The last movement brings back the attractive –

dare one say catchy? – tune from the first movement, to close in a mood of gentle

optimism, peace and reassurance.

Programme notes by Rosemary Jones 2011

1. Requiem aeternam

Requiem aeternam dona eis Domine: et lux perpetua luceat eis.

Te decet hymnus, Deus in Sion: et tibi reddetur votum in Jerusalem.

Exaudi orationem meam, ad te omnis caro veniet.

Kyrie eleison. Christe eleison. Kyrie eleison.

from Missa pro defunctis

Grant them rest eternal, Lord our God, we pray to thee: and light perpetual shine on them for ever.Thou, Lord, art worshipped in Sion: thy praises shall ever be sung in all Jerusalem. O hear us; O Lord, hear thy faithful servants’ prayer; to thee shall all mortal flesh return. Kyrie eleison. Christe eleison. Kyrie eleison.

2. Out of the deep

Out of the deep have I called unto thee, O Lord: Lord, hear my voice.

O let thine ears consider well: the voice of my complaint.

If thou, Lord, wilt be extreme to mark what is done amiss: O Lord, who may abide it?

For there is mercy with thee: therefore shalt thou be feared.

I look for the Lord; my soul doth wait for him: in his word is my trust.

My soul fleeth unto the Lord; before the morning watch, I say, before the morning watch.

O Israel, trust in the Lord, for with the Lord there is mercy: and with him is plenteous redemption.

And he shall redeem Israel: from all his sins.

Psalm 130

3. Pie Jesu

Pie Jesu Domine, dona eis requiem.

Pie Jesu Domine, dona eis sempiternam requiem.

from ‘Dies Irae’, Missa pro defunctis

Blessed Jesu, Lord I pray, in thy mercy grant them rest. Lord our God, we pray thee, grant them everlasting rest.

4. Sanctus Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus, Dominus Deus Sabaoth. Pleni sunt caeli et terra gloria tua. Hosanna in excelsis. Benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini. from Missa pro defunctis

Holy, Holy, Holy Lord, God of power and majesty. Heaven and earth are full of thy glory. Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord our God: Hosanna in the highest.

5. Agnus Dei

Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, dona eis requiem.

Lamb of God, that takest away the sins of the world: in thy mercy, grant them rest.

Man that is born of a woman hath but a short time to live, and is full of misery.

He cometh up, and is cut down like a flower; he fleeth as it were a shadow.

Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, dona eis requiem.

In the midst of life we are in death: of whom may we seek for succour?

Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, dona eis requiem.

I am the resurrection and the life, saith the Lord: he that believeth in me, though he were dead,yet shall he live: and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.

Latin text from Missa pro defunctis; English texts from the Burial Service, 1662 Book of Common Prayer

6. The Lord is my shepherd

The lord is my shepherd: therefore can I lack nothing.

He shall feed me in a green pasture: and lead me forth beside the waters of comfort.

He shall convert my soul: and bring me forth in the paths of righteousness, for his Name’s sake.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art withme; thy rod and thy staff comfort me.

Thou shalt prepare a table before me against them that trouble me: thou hast anointed my headwith oil, and my cup shall be full.

But thy loving-kindness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in thehouse of the Lord for ever. Psalm 23

7. Lux aeterna

I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord, for theyrest from their labours: even so saith the Spirit.

Lux aeterna luceat eis, Domine: cum sanctis tuis in aeternum, quia pius es.

Requiem aeternam dona eis Domine: et lux perpetua luceat eis.

Light eternal shine upon them, Lord, we pray: with saints and angels ever dwelling, for thy mercy’ssake, may they rest in peace.

Grant them rest eternal, Lord our God, we pray to thee: and light perpetual shine on them for ever.

English text from the Burial Service (slightly altered); Latin text, Missa pro defunctis English translations by John Rutter

P E R F O R M E R S

EDMOND FIVETconductor

Edmond Fivet has been a major force in British music education, having

been Director of the Royal College of Music Junior Department and

serving, for eighteen years, as Principal of the Royal Welsh College of

Music and Drama.

Since retiring to Suffolk he has become increasingly involved in local

music making, first conducting the Aldeburgh Music Club Choir in May

2007 in a programme that included Beethoven Mass in C followed by a

performance of the Mozart Requiem with the Phoenix Singers in

November. Edmond was appointed Musical Director of Aldeburgh

Music Club in 2008 and of the Phoenix Singers in 2009. Concerts have

included Handel Messiah; Mozart Mass in C Minor and Coronation

Mass; Rossini Petite Mass; Walton Belshazzar’s Feast; Haydn Creation;

Fauré Requiem; Haydn Nelson Mass and Schubert Mass in G and, most

recently, his Mass in E flat. Future programmes include Orff Carmina

Burana; Mendelssohn Elijah and Verdi Requiem.

2008 saw the formation of the Prometheus Orchestra, which Edmond

conducts, and which has given concerts in Ipswich, Bury St Edmunds,

Aldeburgh, Orford, Framlingham, Woodbridge and Snape Maltings.

Programmes have included a range of Haydn and Beethoven

symphonies, Elgar, Grieg, Wagner, Mozart and Schubert Overture

Rosamunde and Symphony No 8 in B minor at the recent Simply

Schubert Weekend. Future concerts include taking part in the Ipswich

School Music Festival in September and the Alwyn Festival in October.

Edmond has conducted many talented youth orchestras and ensembles

including performances of Shostakovich’s Fifth and Tchaikovsky’s

Fourth Symphonies and has conducted two major chamber orchestra

tours including Bach’s Violin Concertos with the then young Daniel

Hope. In 2007 he conducted two performances of Britten’s Noye’s

Fludde in Cardiff. A widely experienced adjudicator, examiner and

consultant, Edmond has worked at home and overseas.

He was appointed a CBE in the Queen’s 2008 Birthday Honours for

services to music and education.

Edmond is Chairman of the Bury St Edmunds Concert Club and Chair

of Making Music’s Concert Promoters Committee.

ZOË BONNERsoprano

British soprano Zoë Bonner completed her postgraduate study at Trinity

College of Music in 2009. While studying with Linda Hirst she won the

prize for opera, the French and German song competitions and

concluded her Masters as the vocal faculty Gold Medallist. Since leaving

Trinity she has enjoyed further competition success in the 2010 Musica

Britannica Trust competition for English song.

Hailed for her “refined artistry” (The Independent) and “impressively

insightful use of colours” (The Metro), Zoë is currently playing the title

role in a radical new interpretation of Monteverdi’s The Coronation of

Poppea for OperaUpClose. This five-star production, complete with

jazz-influenced orchestration by Alex Silverman and new libretto by

celebrated playwright Mark Ravenhill, is running in repertory at

London’s Little Opera House in Islington until the end of June. Zoë’s

early performances as Arianna in Handel’s Giustino and Hyacinthus in

Mozart’s Apollo et Hyacinthus also received excellent reviews and other

operatic roles include First Genius (Mozart The Magic Flute); Mrs Jones

(Kurt Weill Street Scene), Galatea (Handel Acis and Galatea) and

Cupid/She (Purcell King Arthur).

As part of a busy portfolio career, Zoë has performed all over Europe as

both soloist and in ensemble. Fulfilling her particular love of baroque

repertoire, recent solo concerts have included Monteverdi’s 1610 Vespers,

Bach’s St John Passion and Christmas Oratorio and both Pergolesi and

Vivaldi’s settings of the Salve Regina. In ensemble, Zoë is a regular

member of the BBC Radio 4 Daily Service Singers and London’s

celebrated Philharmonia Voices and has recently performed with the

Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, madrigal quintet Ruby Throat

and the Gabrieli Consort.

WILLIAM SAUNDERS organist

William Saunders is an accomplished musician with a growing

reputation as an organist and conductor. He is currently Assistant

Director of Music at Ipswich School, one of his responsibilities being

Artistic Director of the annual Festival of Music, and Deputy Organist

of St Edmundsbury Cathedral. He is engaged in an extensive organ

recital programme which has recently taken him to Westminster Abbey,

Wells Cathedral and Norwich Cathedral. In 2010 he again toured

Northern Germany, giving recitals in Hamburg and Cologne Cathedrals.

He is also the conductor of the Prometheus Singers.

At school in Suffolk, he won the Chamber Music Ensemble Class in the

National Festival of Music for Youth. While being taught organ by James

Parsons, he took up organ scholarships at Sheffield Cathedral and

Sheffield University, where he read music and graduated with First-class

Honours in 2003. During this time he conducted the University Choral

Society. On his return to Suffolk, he was appointed Organist of St Mary-

le-Tower, Ipswich. Recitals at the Cambridge Summer Music Festival and

Oundle International Festival were followed by his first performances in

Germany. This exposure led to recordings on the Regent Records label:

Dignity and Impudence (St Mary’s Redcliffe), Tower Power (St Mary-le-

Tower), and Animal Parade (Brentwood Cathedral).

The Organists Review made Dignity and Impudence Editor’s Choice in

May 2008 – ‘William's playing is quite astounding: musicality, flawless

technique and mind-boggling organ management’. He is regularly organ

tutor at Oundle for Organists and the Royal College of Organists and,

last year, gave recitals at Bath Abbey, Tewkesbury Abbey and

Westminster Abbey.

PROMETHEUS ENSEMBLE

POULENC Gloria and RUTTER Requiem

organ William Saunders

flute Stephanie Wingham

oboe Rob Rogers

harp Rachel Wick

cello Jeremy Hughes

timpani and glockenspiel Ian Chopping

A l d e b u r g h m u s i c c l u bfounded by Benjamin Britten for local people

ALDEBURGH MUSIC CLUB CHOIR

The Aldeburgh Music Club was founded in 1952 by Benjamin Britten and Peter

Pears, and has gradually evolved into the choral society it is today. We currently

have over one hundred members who meet at Aldeburgh Community Centre on

Tuesday evenings from September to May. Our purpose is to share the enjoyment

of making music together to the highest possible standard, in which we are

encouraged by our conductor, Edmond Fivet. We are joined in our concerts,

mainly in local venues including Snape Maltings Concert Hall, by professional

soloists and orchestras.

Our most recent concerts reflect the range of music which the choir is able to

perform – William Walton Belshazzar’s Feast in the autumn of 2009 at Snape

Maltings Concert Hall, a spring 2010 concert at Orford Church which included

motets by Alessandro Scarlatti and Vivaldi Gloria, Haydn Creation at Snape in

May 2010, and the ever popular Handel Messiah in December 2010. We

performed Schubert Mass No 6 in E flat major as part of the Simply Schubert

weekend in March.

The choir is a registered charity and is a member of Making Music.

ALDEBURGH MUSIC CLUB CHOIR

soprano

Maggie Beale

Felicity Bissett

Juliet Brereton

Hazel Cox

Kaye Dawe**

Fern Elbrick

Shirley Fry

Philippa Godwin

Camilla Haycock

Brenda Hopkins

Chris Ive

Penny Kay

Primrose Lazar

Anne Lonsdale

Wendy Marshall

Linda Martin

Jenny Mullan

Elizabeth Nicholls

Liz Page

Suki Pearce

Sandra Saint

Sarah Somerset**

Zoe Readhead

Teresa Roper

Sandra Saint

Sylvia Taylor

Sara Viney*

Jan Warnock

Carol Wood

alto

Allison Allen

Mary Allen

Sue Brinkhurst

Janet Bryanton

Margaret Charles

Jean Clouston

Elizabeth Donovan

Hilary Durrant

Kate Easton

Rosemary Gale

Claire Graves*

Mary Hepton

Jean Hickson

Gwyneth Howard

Anita Jefferson

Rosemary Jones

Auriol Marson

Frances Osborn

Judith Payne

Elspeth Pearson

Norma Pitfield

Valerie Potter

Heather Richards

Hilary Slaughter

Maggie Smith*

Gillian Varley

tenor

John Beale

Christopher Bunbury

Charles Burt

Peter Fife

Robin Graham

Perry Hunt

Andrew Johnston

Ian Kennedy

Michael McKeown

Michael Pim

Veronica Posford

bass

Michael Dawe

David Edwards

Jack Firman

Christopher Gonin

David Grugeon

Paddy Heazell

Tim Hughes

Graeme Kay

David Madel

Chris Mattinson

Neil Murray*

Michael Pearce

John Sims

David Smith

Robin Somerset

Trevor Wilkinson

* Invited Singers

** Phoenix Singers

SUPPORTING THE CHOIR

Support of every sort is vital for the success of Aldeburgh Music Club. This can be

contributed in a practical way, for example by helping with concert arrangements, or by

becoming a Friend, Sponsor or Patron.

If you are thinking of supporting AMC please contact our Honorary Secretary, Mrs Auriol

Marson Tel 01728 602217, in the first instance.

FRIENDS

Friends pay an annual subscription of 50p plus £15 per ticket for The Friends of AMC

‘100 Club Draw’ which has prizes of £20 to £100. Each ticket is valid for every draw during

the year.

SPONSORS

We welcome sponsorship from local corporate bodies, companies and individuals who

agree to support a particular concert, soloist or orchestral player, provide services or

materials or subsidise a publication. Current sponsors are:

Big House Holidays and Suffolk Cottage Holidays

Sabona Company

The Wentworth Hotel

Aldeburgh Music Club is grateful to major sponsors Big House Holidays and Suffolk

Cottage Holidays for their substantial contribution to concert venue costs this season.

“As a company, we are committed to giving something back to our community,” says John

Hammond, Managing Director. “We are proud to be sponsors of the Aldeburgh Music

Club.”

ADVERTISING IN CONCERT PRO GRAMMES

You can support the Club at the same time as promoting your business by advertising in

our concert programmes.

PATRONS

By becoming a Patron you can help to underwrite our concerts. Your name is listed (if you

wish) in our concert programmes and you are invited to social events. The suggested

minimum subscription is £75, or £100 for a couple, but we hope that people who are able

to pay more will be generous enough to do so.

Our Patrons' Administrator is Mrs Elizabeth Nicholls Tel 01728 453777.

S P O N S O R S H I P

Tim and Jane Allen

David Andren

Tony and Gill Bailey

Follett and Libby Balch

Tom and Sue Balch

David and Heather Barthelmas

Gilly Beddard

Anthony Bloomfield

Sally Blunt

Maggie Boswell

Phil and Juliet Brereton

Alan and Judi Britten

Christopher and Amanda Bunbury

Anne Bushell

Jane Catt

Lady Cave

Jean Clouston

Keith Coventry

Michael and Kaye Dawe

Peter and Bridget Dickinson

Michael and Phyllida Flint

Judith Foord

Max and Thalia Fordham

Shirley Fry

Leonard Fulford

Richard and Sheila Griffiths

Mervyn and Jane Hall

David and Pauline Hawkins

Hugo Herbert-Jones

Alison Hughes

Simon and Chris Ive

William and Rhonda Jacob

Penny Jonas

Frederik van Kretschmar

Philip and Mary Lawson

Tony Lee

Eric and Claire Lowry

Sir David Madel

Michael Marson

Sylvia Miller

Barbara Moor

David and Anne Morris

Patrick and Elizabeth Nicholls

Sir Stephen and Lady Oliver

Andrew and Susan Paris

Michael and Suki Pearce

Elis and Pamela Pehkonen

David and Anne Perfect

Susan Pool

Julian and Valerie Potter

John and Jennifer Raison

Simon and Judy Raison

Ann Rutherford

Lilias Sheepshanks

John Sims

Lady Sinclair

Elizabeth Spinney

Denis Stanley

Ian and Janet Tait

Niels and Ann Toettcher

David Tomlinson

Adam and Jo Turnbull

Sir John and Lady Waite

John and Ann-Margaret Walton

Dorothy Whately-Smith

Trevor and Belinda Wilkinson

Maggie Wilson

Rae Woodland

Christopher and Shinanine Wykes

Chris and Jackie Youlden

PATRONS

It was on 6 April 1952 that the Aldeburgh Music Club first met at Crag House, the home of

Benjamin Britten and Peter Pears. Those members who wished to play music would meet once a

month and, from the start, membership was open to ‘all practising musicians, amateur and

professional, in Aldeburgh and district’. They were, however, restricted to thirty-five in number

and by invitation of the committee – and so it remained for many years.

There were three groups – recorder players, singers and string players – who met to play on

Club Nights. During the Club’s first year they were joined by Imogen Holst, who became

Conductor and then Vice-President and was associated with the Club until her death in 1984.

The first concert was held in August 1953 and in the following few years the Club participated in

the Aldeburgh Festival. Rosamund Strode began her life-long involvement with the Club in

1964; she became Vice-President after Britten’s death in 1976. Rae Woodland became President

after Pears’ death in 1986 and is now President Emeritus.

By the early 1980’s the number of recorder and string players had dwindled; the Club was,

inevitably, evolving. A pattern of three concerts a year developed and under Philip Reed’s

direction, in 1986, professional soloists were used. It has been so ever since. In 1995 the Club

gave its first performance at the Snape Maltings Concert Hall. How different to the small

gatherings at Crag House! There is, though, an important constant. The Club’s Constitution,

from that start, declares that :

‘The Club is to meet together to make music, and for mutual help and criticism.’

A L D E B U R G H M U S I C C L U B

ALDEBURGH MUSIC CLUB COMMIT TEE 2010-2011

Chairman Jane Hart

Vice Chairman Paddy Heazell

Hon Treasurer Perry Hunt

Hon Secretary Auriol Marson

Music Librarian Michael Dawe

Print and Publicity Allison Allen

Patrons’ Administrator Elizabeth Nicholls

Concert Manager Penny Kay

Membership Secretary Wendy Marshall

Minutes Secretary Philippa Godwin

Director of Music Edmond Fivet

Orchestral Manager Liz Page

Rehearsal Accompanist Jonathan Rutherford

Treasurer of AMC Friends Adam Turnbull

President Humphrey Burton CBE

Vice President Valerie Potter and Alan Britten

President Emeritus Rae Woodland

Aldeburgh Music Club in rehearsal at Snape Maltings November 2008.

Humphrey Burton is best known for his music broadcasting. Joining the BBC in 1955 he was,

by 1965, the first Head of the new Music and Arts Department. He went on to be a founder

member of London Weekend Television as Head of Drama, Arts & Music and later edited and

hosted the arts magazine Aquarius. He returned to the BBC in 1975 to head Music and Arts

again. He hosted Omnibus and then inaugurated Arena and the long-running series Young

Musician of the Year. For the past 30 years he has combined freelance activity as a director of

televised opera and concerts with work as an impresario, broadcaster and biographer. Now

resident in Aldeburgh, Humphrey is fully involved in music, nationally and internationally,

whilst being an energetic champion of amateur music through the Aldeburgh Music Club. The

Club is honoured to have so eminent a President.

Alan Britten had a long and notable career in the oil industry, followed by service as Chairman

of the English Tourism Council. Throughout that time, he maintained his musical interests and

was a regular visitor to Aldeburgh Festivals. From 1989-1999 he served on the Council of what

was then the Aldeburgh Foundation, after which he was appointed President of the Friends of

Aldeburgh Music, a position which he still holds. He is an Honorary Fellow of the Trinity Laban

Conservatoire. He is also a Board member of Trinity College London, and a member of the

Britten-Pears Local Liaison Committee. As Benjamin Britten’s nephew, Alan represents a direct

link with one of the Aldeburgh Music Club’s founding fathers and we especially value his

support for what he describes as “one of my uncle’s outstanding legacies”.

Valerie Potter joined the Aldeburgh Music Club on retirement. She had been a keen singer at

school and had been fortunate in teaching for a large part of her career at William Ellis School

which had an excellent Music Department. There she resumed singing and helped with the

organisation of concerts and productions.

Earlier on she had stayed with her future mother-in-law, Mary Potter (AMC Chairman 1959-63)

who was hosting a rehearsal of King Arthur in the drawing room of Crag House. Then, as now,

the choir needed their coffee and Valerie made it for them. After joining the choir she soon

became active as a Committee member at a very important time for the Club. This was when the

first concert in Snape Maltings Concert Hall was being planned, requiring a complete

reappraisal of the AMC resources, both musical and financial. After retiring as Chairman of

AMC (1998-2003) Valerie was made a Vice-President.

Saturday 9th July 2011, 7.30pm

Headmaster Porter Theatre, Framlingham College

Carl Orff: Carmina Burana Constant Lambert: The Rio Grande

Tickets £12 (under-18s half price) from Aldeburgh Music (01728 687110) or at the door

Phoenixsingers

Saturday 26 November 2011 at 7.30pmSnape Maltings Concert Hall

MENDELSSOHNElijahAldeburgh Music Club ChoirPrometheus Orchestra

Sally Harrison sopranoFiona Kimm mezzo sopranoJames Geer tenorNjabulo Madlala baritone

Edmond Fivet conductor

Tickets £20, £16, £12

Aldeburgh Music Box Office Tel 01728 687110www.aldeburgh.co.uk

A l d e b u r g h m u s i c c l u bfounded by Benjamin Britten for local people

Aldeburgh Music Club is a Reg istered Chari ty No 1000990